We gather here at LA's coolest Mexican restaurant Lounge... Mr Blinky spoke with Melinda the Manager, she was great and suggested we stop in early to have a taste of their Ahi Tuna Tacos, or Enchiladas.. And Definitely go for the $5 dollar Classic Margaritas... Mr B will be in the back outdoor patio. Signing everyone in and getting everyone their trinkets(If we Sellout) from 7pm to 8pm.... Old Mexican Painting frames run Elvis movies...All night long... PLAN TO BE EARLY (find parking etc) OR YOU WILL MISS THE BUS!!!

Then we board the DD Bus to the Next Classic Hollywood Lounge: The Dresden Room! Talked to the owners Jim and Carl, and they are waiting for us... You can't call yourself an Angeleno until you have sipped one of their Classic Blood and Sand cocktails while listening to the Lounge singing of Marty and Elaine... Sometimes they have a few Blood and Sand cocktails so if they perform late we may miss em.. But This is a Hollywood Landmark literally....

The we head into the heart of the new hip part of Hollywood/SilverLake on Sunset. The El Cid Show Lounge. This massive old Spanish open air lounge features our first dancing area. Saturday night is Latin dancing night with Latin Dance Music, and I am Sure Cristobal who is paid in full and Master Of Love 2 Dance Will show us some steps... I highly recommend the Calimucho cocktail which Tobin the Manager suggested we try....

Still scratching to dance? The Bus does have a pole downstairs... But wait...We return to the scene of the crime. The Medusa Lounge. Now under the helm of Yoshi night manager and sweet great guy. Who once Mr.B mentioned the Anti-Valentines party we had their in Feb... Immediately, agreed to Granting us a secret no-velvet ropes entrance... Shhh! The Owners of Medusa Lounge and Chin-Chin restaurant fame, have added a dancefloor behind their back wall. And Saturday its top hits, 80's, and Mash-Ups! Saay Whhaat? Do yourself a favor... Order the PearGasm!!! Its not cheap but nothing that takes American Express and has Gasm in it ever is...

Mister Blinky is just getting started,we have your back, and a reservation for 50+ at coolest Hollywood Lounge..We crash after Midnight at Citizen Smith. Met Hunter and Emerson co-managers and Hunter is cooking up a cocktail for us to chill with. Honestly folks, this is one of the coolest bars in Hollywood. Please check out their outdoor patio or any of the photo's shot... Very Cool, plus anybody who has a 500ml Beer, is definitely a friend of mine.. Oh yea.. DJ will be spinning some cool tunes...

Chris K (Dive Bar Adventures) did a great organizing this event in Hollywood. We had a fun time, with the exception of the lunatic old man driving the bus (not our fault) and hitting trees at like 30mph, scarring to crap outa me, but at the same time giving me all the excitement of going to Magic Mountain without the exhorbent price. I met some nice people, saw some cool places that I had not been at before, danced, drank and enjoyed seeing some cool places that I had not before. We packed the bus with about 70 DWS, DBA and HNL members, and unfortuanely my camera battery went out early in the night so I only uploaded a limited number of pictures. Looking forward to next time doing an event with DBA (Chris) and HNL (Amy).

A former member

I'm so excited to meet everyone going. This is so very out of my comfort zone meeting a huge group of people alone but I have to try so... find me.... make me feel at home cuz I'll be the super nervous one there LOL I'm bringing my camera so all my buddies in Vegas see that LA can be a party central as well! See you all tomorrow!

We're about:

New to the area? or just want to make some new friends? This meetup group, is about just coming out to a local pub/club/house in West LA (Santa Monica, Venice or Marina Del Ray) area and meeting others without the uncomfortableness of the typical bar scene.

Drinking with Strangers (DWS) is a non-profit for charity meetup group. Created originally for me to meet people when I moved to West LA from New York City in 2007, it has blossomed into one of LA's largest meetup groups and a place where anyone (friendly) can come out and enjoy good company with hundreds of other easy-going friendly people to drink/talk with and make friends.

With the assistance of Randy (No Flakes) and Chris K (Dive Bar Adventures), DWS throws what I like to call, 'Hard Core Mixer Parties' which encourages people to let loose, dress up (many theme'd parties) and socialize and meet people in a city where its usually not so easy to do so.

DWS is free to join, and we strive to avoid any cost for our parties, though some parties require entrance fee's by the venues. Any monetary amount received by myself is passed onto one of our children's charities including but not limited to a local camp for kids with Heart Disease. (contact me for further information).